All Articles Tagged "mainstream media"

It was only after talking with her for about 20 minutes that I took notice of the Emmy awards (three of them) resting in the corner of Camille Edwards’ office. Overlooking New York City’s Lincoln Center, sharing a huge space decorated with TVs on the wall, gadgets pinging with the sound of messages landing in an inbox, and a pile or two of papers-and-things here and there, the shiny gold awards are on the window ledge with a row of family photos.

Edwards manages a staff of 200 people who cover the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) for WABC-TV. She describes her job as being a mentor, coach and one who “sets the tone” for the newsroom, providing both positive and negative feedback. Technically, her title is VP, News Director. She also, of course, plays a big role in making sure that the team is covering the stories that need covering in a way that’s “fair and impartial,” to use her words.

But Edwards also has a business mandate. “I’m managing a budget and expenses, contributing to the station in a way that’s productive,” she said. And that productivity also includes creating a product that’s appealing to advertisers.

“We’re going to do a story no matter the cost,” Edwards added. But when there are budgetary concerns, she has to handle that behind the scenes.

“I am very happy working at this station. Every day is a challenging day,” Edwards said. “Who knows what’s next, but I’m glad to be here.”

Edwards got her start at the University of Michigan, studying English and communications, then working as a desk assistant in Detroit. After that, it was on to Toledo where she was a reporter, producer and assignment editor all rolled into one. Knowing that she didn’t like being in front of the camera, she wound her way up a steady climb through the media ranks, city by city: Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, back to Chicago, Washington DC, then New York.

“A lot of people don’t realize the opportunities behind the scenes,” she said. “As far as my journey, I have just been myself.”

Which brings us to an interesting topic when you consider the mainstream media: diversity, both in the newsroom and on the screen. Or the lack thereof.

“I provide a different vantage point and you have to find a company that celebrates that,” she said.

Edwards noted that she’s not had the difficult experiences that she’s heard from others, but that doesn’t negate the fact that organizations have to do more to seek out diverse staffers and give them “a seat at the table.” That means going to college campus, minority organizations, and accessing all of the other pathways to reach viable candidates of all races and backgrounds.

That diversity extends to what is being shown on the screen. A Detroit native and self-professed news junkie, when she was younger, she had a problem with all of the bad news broadcast about African Americans.

Chris Brown is the cover model for the fall issue of Annex Man. Inside, the 24-year-old “Love More” singer opened up about a plethora of things including his issues with the media, his infamous Twitter rants and whether or not he really plans on quitting music. Check out a few highlights from his interview below.

On mainstream media:

“If we lived in an ideal world, we wouldn’t enjoy seeing other people fail and falter and suffer, but unfortunately that’s not the case. People want to know who you are and about you but some of the media doesn’t always give the full story…”

On Twitter rants and claiming he’s quitting music:

“Everyone has moments of frustration. I tend to voice what I’m feeling, for the good or the bad … I think I wear my heart on my sleeve … Music will always be apart of my life.”

On forgiveness:

“…I expect to have highs and lows, that’s life. I am open to every day and to every experience. I’m only 24. I have a long way to go and I embrace that journey…”

On his new album, X:

“I tried to stay away from the euro pop beats. This record pays homage to the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, [and] Sam Cooke.”

Turn the page for the alternate cover and photos from Breezy’s fashion forward photo shoot.

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Apparently there was a major protest this weekend, but unless you happened to be in the vicinity or walking past it, you probably haven’t heard much about it.

This past Saturday, anywhere between a few hundreds to as many as 5,000 protesters (depending on the source) flooded into Manhattan for Occupation Wall Street, a multi-day rally, which seeks to peacefully “occupy Wall Street” and expose the disloyal, incompetent, and corrupt special interests, which have permeated our economy and government.

Inspired by the massive public protests in Cairo and in Madrid, these protestors organized online, mostly through social networking sites, with a little help from the activist hacker group Anonymous. For the past three days, the protestors slept in sleeping bags in a park near Wall Street at night and held demonstrations in the morning. Today will mark the fourth day of the “occupation” where hundreds still remain beating drums, waving signs and chanting slogans such as “Wall Street is our Street.” Yet the three major cable news networks have devoted little to no airtime on this developing story.

Of course, you can watch the protest live online or you can read all about the details in alternative newspapers and online news sites. However, the mainstream media, which reports daily on the happenings inside of Wall Street have seemed to bypass all the action happening outside on the streets of the financial district. I mean when the youth in Eygpt and Tunisia decided to stand up and say they had enough, our media was there with round the clock coverage. So what’s up with that?

Perhaps there is a logical explanation on why the mainstream press, particularly the 24 hour news stations have chosen to ignore the protest – especially at a time when animosity for the Wall Street has reached fever pitch. Maybe the numbers weren’t big enough to warrant coverage? However, similar and yet sparsely attended Tea Party rallies in Washington, D.C, which were held in support of federal spending cuts, were rewarded with generous media attention. Yet in the past few months dozens of protests against the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, killer drones, no-cuts to government spending, police brutality and other progressive causes have been carried out and I didn’t see any of those rallies getting coverage.

It’s hard to imagine that the mainstream media has been intentionally ignoring progressive causes while giving attention to the rallies of the extreme right. But consider that when a broad coalition of black activist groups, which had been spearheaded by the Nation of Islam, took to the streets to protest the bombing of Libya and raise awareness of social ills domestically for the Millions in Harlem March in New York City, there was no media attention.

The same could be said for the Israeli Tent City protest, which has been happening since early August. Tens of thousands of protestors have taken to the streets in Jerusalem, Haifa and a dozen other Israeli cities in what they are calling a Million Man March to protest that country’s rising cost of living. And yet as bombings by Hamas makes news day in and day out in western media outlets, what is pegged as the largest demonstration in Israeli history since the Lebanon protest can’t get any place on the TV screen here stateside.

Any suppression of news is considered censorship and by ignoring antiwar and other far-left protests, not only is the mainstream media missing important stories and failing to act as the watchdog for the 1st through 3rd Estates, it is also propagating agendas, particularly corporate, right and centrist political agendas, which seeks to suggest that there is no visible opposition to the U.S. wars and other international and domestic policy issues. This is why it is so frustrating for those in the far left, progressive and even the black nationalist communities, who have to sit and listen as pundits and commentators spout off about the lack of appeal for their causes within the general public when the unpublicized and unreported reality suggest something totally different.

Alicia Keys is two things to two different groups of people. On the one hand, she’s an amazing artist who is also a staunch philanthropist. On the other hand, she’s a great artist whose philanthropic endeavors really can’t be trusted. After all, she’s a home-wrecker.

Every time news emerges about Keys’ work with her organization Keep A Child Alive, which provides treatment and support to families affected by HIV and AIDS, it’s taken with some level of cynicism and apathy. In other words, eyes roll amongst Black folk. Sure, her personal life is her personal life but celebrities are public citizens. It’s difficult to accept Key’s proposed image of a do-gooder when we’re led to believe that she didn’t do right in her personal life. For those who don’t know, Keys supposedly had a three year long affair with producer Swizz Beats, while he was married. Swizz eventually left his wife to be with Keys and they married in 2010.

Fortunately for Keys, the mainstream audience doesn’t have the same feelings as those who read blogs and news sites targeted to African-Americans, because white media basically didn’t cover news related to the affair. The omission was so glaring that The Root compared how mainstream media handled news relating to Keys and the singer Fantasia, who was embroiled in her own drama. Fantasia’s affair with a married man made headlines across People.com and Access Hollywood, whereas news of Alicia Keys’s affair was only mentioned in the Black media circuit.

Even Oprah, who questioned Naomi Campbell about the fact she was dating a married man (he’s officially separated), never brought up Key’s alleged infidelity when she had her on as a guest. So what gives? Does Alicia Keys’ have such good publicists that she can buy silence from influential reporters? I don’t think it’s too far off to believe considering Tom Cruise has successfully quelled alleged rumors for many, many years, thanks to a healthy legal team.

In any case, the brand of Alicia Keys, the sassy New York artist who gives back to her community, is tarnished in the Black community. Like Angelina Jolie, who wasn’t spared by the media and is still branded a home-wrecker, Keys (in the African-American community) will be associated with her artistry first, her infidelity second, and her humanitarian crusades last. Jolie can go on countless UN missions to third world countries but it will never erase the public’s memory as to what she did to America’s reigning sweetheart Jennifer Aniston.

There’s no doubt that she stands out from the pack with her dedication to her cause, as she continues to dutifully promote her organization. But it is unknown for how long her reputation amongst Black fans will linger and to what extent that her personal life has undermined her image as a humanitarian. But in any case, what matters is the services that are delivered via her organization and star power. Maybe, Key’s drive is partially motivated by her need to do right by us…or maybe not.

(The Fresh Xpress) — Seems like President Obama just can’t win. They want him to get more “angry” then get mad when he uses the term “kick a$”. They want him to quit overreaching into private industry, yet complain that he didn’t step in sooner to close BP’s leak. They assail him for being elitist, yet call him inauthentic when he orders buffalo wings and drinks beer. For many people Barack Obama will never be good enough, simply because he isn’t the guy they voted for back in 08′.